


Tainted Hot Dogs

by SierraWinchester



Series: JatP, my own personal universe [4]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Found Family, He cares about his boys, Hurt/Comfort, I DONT MAKE THE RULES, Julie Loves Her Boys, Julie needs a hug, Love, Minor mention of Willex, No Beta, Oops, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ray needs a hug, Whump, angsty, graphic death i guess, hot dogs, i die like these idiots, julie does, rays a good dad okay?, sad dad ray, sunset curve has ptsd, sunset curve needs a hug, they need to grieve their deaths, theyre evil now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:28:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29621325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SierraWinchester/pseuds/SierraWinchester
Summary: It only takes one time for Julie to decide she needs to find some way to ban hot dogs from the Molina household.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Ray Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Carlos Molina & Julie Molina & Ray Molina
Series: JatP, my own personal universe [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145687
Comments: 12
Kudos: 84





	1. The Boys

Julie laughed at Alex’s exasperated expression as she headed towards the house. Band practice had gone well, but now Luke was suggesting they hang out while Julie and her family eat dinner. Reggie had pouted, reminding him they couldn’t eat so why torture themselves? (After all, hadn’t Caleb done that enough? Or even just the universe for constantly playing that old gag of money on a rope. I mean how many times could the universe nearly, or fully, kill off these boys only to bring them back because of music? It wasn’t a very fun game in Reggie’s opinion.) But Luke had only replied with some snappy one liner about enjoying the view and Reggie had muttered something about Luke enjoying a very different view. 

Julie tamped down on her grin as she walked into the house, hating that she had to, but her dad didn’t know about ghosts. Since the Orpheum she’d finally had to talk with Carlos about it, but she wasn’t ready for her father to be in the loop. While Julie had a inkling that her dad wouldn’t hate the boys, if only because they’d brought his daughter back to him, she didn’t really want to deal with all the questions. Especially since she didn’t really have many answers for them. These days, as things progressively got weirder, it was easier to just go with the flow and hope changes were good. 

“Hey, míja. Grab a plate.” Ray smiled, having laid everything out on the counter buffet style tonight. “Carlos is washing up and then he’ll be down. He’s excited to tell you about his baseball game.” Her dad chuckled, sliding further down the island to grab himself a side of fries. It was a relatively simple dinner, something more akin to a barbecue maybe, but nostalgic… At least to the living people in the house. 

Luke had snuck around behind Julie, hoping to see what they were having so he could gauge how whiny Reggie would be later, but he’d frozen at the sight. Alex, ever the observer saw the shift in demeanor and felt his forehead wrinkle in confusion, “Luke? You okay?” 

He hasn’t even made it all the way around the counter when he saw why Luke had stopped. “Oh.” He breathed out, his own anxiety skyrocketing a bit. Alex didn’t even need to glance at Reggie to know he’d seen it. He heard the quiet sound he’d made, closer to a whine than an actual word. 

Julie was looking at them confused, roll in hand, when it dawned on her. Quickly her face crumpled into sympathy and her own form of pain. She kept her voice low, trying to not alert her father to the presence of the others, “Go… I’ll be out soon.” 

They didn’t stay, poofing away quickly. Julie swallowed and ignored the hot dog she’d been about to reach for, instead grabbing for fries and the ketchup. She wasn’t nearly as hungry as she’d been only moments before….but she needed to eat something before she found some excuse to leave. 

*****************************  
The three ghosts all slammed into the studio at the same moment, none of them saying a word yet. Looking between each other it was clear they were all reliving it. The pain. The fear. The loss. 

Luke moved first, grabbing at his boys and gripping them to his chest as he watched it all unfold behind his eyes, feeling phantom pains and hearing his own sobs echo in his ears. 

_It had all happened so fast. One second Reggie was making a joke, hoping to ease Alex’s never ending anxiety and the next Reggie himself is choking. Luke had slapped his back, trying to get him to cough up the chunk he’d clearly swallowed wrong, but it didn’t work. And then Alex had coughed, quietly, sure, but there was no coincidence there. And Luke could already feel the dread seeping into his bones, soaking them in acid and drowning out his own ache to cough._

_“Reg, c‘mon, sit up. You need your inhaler?” He asked, nudging Alex and still hoping against everything that that’s all it was. He could hear Alex struggling to contain his own coughs and groans, but he couldn’t give up yet. Surely, surely, it was some fluke…._

_Alex fumbled a bit, dropping the Fanny pack from his chest and managing to get it open and grab the inhaler, but Luke never did get the chance to use it. He’d grabbed it, but before he could even pull the cap off Reggie had doubled over, vomit coming from his mouth, his body trembling. Fuck._

_Luke rubbed at his band mates back, but he was beginning to feel worse. Suddenly things were hazy and he couldn’t quite feel his arms the way he normally could. It was weird and he sort of tried to shake it off like he did with his nerves before a show, but he couldn’t. It only made his head buzz harder. Clearing his throat, he decided maybe it was time for Alex to get some help. “‘Lex…”_

_Alex nodded and he’d stood, face far too pale to be safe, though the ruby hue on his cheeks showed just how hard he was fighting his own feelings. Luke blinked and Alex was gone. He looked around, confused. He’d just been here, hadn’t he?_

_Reggie was still where he’d been before, puking his guts out on the couch, heaving and crying out in pain with every breath he could manage. But somehow now Luke was on the floor. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten there or why he wasn’t quite sure where his legs began or ended, but Reggie clearly needed his help. So he tried to scoot closer, knowing standing was out of the question. “Reg..” He rasped, kneeling beside his best friend now._

_Reggie looked at him, face an odd grey shade that sent straight lead into Luke’s gut. He didn’t look good...he looked really, really bad. Worse than the time he’d fixed his amp in the rain and came in jittering from the shock of it. Luke swallowed convulsively, feeling weaker and more distant now. He blinked himself back to reality and forced Reggie to look at him again. (When had he looked away?) “It’s gonna be okay….Lex is gettin’ help.”_

_Luke could hear how the words sounded slurred, like he couldn’t quite make his tongue shape the sounds they’d been making since he was a toddler. He pushed the thought aside and tried to send an encouraging look to his friend, but suddenly a rush of vertigo washed over him and he slammed his eyes closed against the horrible rocking motion and the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears. When he reopened them his position was changed._

_Laying on the floor now, he couldn’t see Reggie. He couldn’t even really make out much from where he was, just that he was definitely on the floor and Alex was beside him. The blond had, at some point, sat beside him on the crusty carpet and was stroking down Luke’s cheek, lips moving. Lips moving? Luke focused with all his energy, though it felt weirdly hard to grasp at, like he was swimming through a pool of jello. He wondered how many packets of jello it would take to make the pool jello. What flavor would they even choose? He always hated orange, but it was Reggie’s favorite so maybe they could do that?_

_Stop. He forced himself to refocus on Alex, unsure why his thoughts were slipping away, especially now. With all his energy invested on it, Luke could hear Alex just over the sirens. And when had those started?_

_“It’s okay…. it’s gonna be okay, Luke. They’re on their way and… they’ll fix it. Fix Reggie and you.. s’gonna be okay..” Alex’s voice was crushed, sounding physically pained, but there was more to it. Luke could feel the undercurrent in his words. Reggie couldn’t be fixed...And Luke was well on his way to following the same path. Huh. Luke idly wondered how Alex would manage the entire band of all he could play was drums and Bobby guitar. It would be difficult with two of them._

_But he wasn’t thinking that for long. His eyes had drifted up, but a sting on his cheek had them returning to Alex. Alex who was full on crying now, looking more scared than Luke had ever seen him. And who’s hand was on Luke’s face, squeezing the now red skin to try and keep him present. That’s not what held Luke’s attention, though. It was the gleam of red starkly contrasting against the pale pink of Alex’s lips. Blood. So Alex wasn’t doing as well as he seemed._

_Another blink and Alex was gone. Paramedics had replaced him, but Luke knew it didn’t matter. He could feel it. Feel his life force draining away like someone had poked a hole in his body and his soul was slithering it’s way from it. He knew it was the end and somehow, even through the lingering twinges of pain and the overwhelming sadness he could feel settling over him, it felt right. Sure, he didn’t have his dream anymore and he’d never get to show his mom she was wrong and prove he could do something worthwhile, but none of that mattered. He was here. With his brothers. He was with his family and they’d never died alone. Luke felt his final breath and he allowed his hand to let go of the inhaler he still clutched, faintly hearing it thump to the floor as he floated out of his body for good. ___

__****************************  
Julie had been picking at her fries for the better part of fifteen minutes, tapping her toes againsr her chair in impatience. She needed to go check on her boys. They were hurting and she could feel her own stomach rolling at the thought that they were alone, dealing with the implications of their death all over again. She had tuned out much of what her dad had said, stating something about not being hungry that he clearly didn’t believe. _ _

__Carlos finally broke through, his own socked feet hitting against her shin. He shot her a look she’d come to know as his “this is ghost related?” look. She nodded slightly, eyes glancing at the hot dog half eaten on his plate. His face scrunched up and he nodded, deciding to take action into his own hands. He dropped his fork and pouted at their father, putting his middle school theatre skills to use. “Papí… I don’t feel great.”_ _

__Ray’s face switched to concerned dad quickly and he snuck his hand out, feeling Carlos’ forehead. “You don’t feel warm.. Is it your head?”_ _

__The younger Molina shook his head, exaggerating the pout further, “My tummy.” He wrapped his arms around his abdomen as a second thought and amped up the puppy eyes again. They could nearly rival Luke’s._ _

__Ray’s frown deepened and he looked at his half empty plate, pushing it away. “I thought it all tasted fine…” He was clearly considering the possibility of food poisoning versus the flu and it was also clear when he decided he didn’t care. “Come on, míjo, we’ll go lay you down upstairs. I’ll make you some cocoa and we can watch Ghost Hunters.”_ _

__Carlos nodded, keeping the act up and looking pitiful. “Ghost Hunters first?” He kept his voice a whine, standing and leaning heavily against his father._ _

__Ray looked more worried and he nodded, wrapping a protective arm around his son. He glanced back at Julie, “I’m going to get him settled.. Don’t worry about cleaning up. I’ll do it later.”_ _

__Julie nodded and she sent a secret thank you to Carlos who winked and smirked at her before whining into his dad’s side. Once Ray had guided Carlos upstairs Julie had all but bolted out the back door, literally sprinting to the studio. It had only been maybe twenty minutes since the boys had poofed away from dinner but she couldn’t imagine they were okay._ _

__Flinging the doors open, Julie raced in and barely cared to shut them, eyes on her boys. All three of them were curled up on the couch, a tangle of limbs. They all looked at her when she arrived and she felt her heart break for what had to be the thousandth time because of these boys. Their eyes were all red rimmed and she could see a slight tremor in Alex’s hands, even as they were being held by both his band mates._ _

__“Oh, mis hijos..” Julie croaked and all but dove into their cuddle puddle, trying to get a piece of each of them. “I’m so so so sorry. I didn’t know. He doesn’t know. But god I’m so sorry...you shouldn’t have had to...I’m so so sorry..”_ _

__Reggie spoke first, his free hand on her back. “It’s okay, Julie. You didn’t know.” The others agreed but the guilt still stuck to her skin, making her feel wrong and itchy._ _

__“Yeah..and I mean, it’s not like hot dogs aren’t everywhere anyways… I mean, we died by America’s favorite meat stick.” Luke, always trying to ease others pain, commented with a shadow of a smile._ _

__“It doesn’t matter, Luke.. You shouldn’t have to relive that.. shouldn’t have to grieve.” Her eyes welled up and she pulled away a bit to look each of them in the face. “This place used to hold so much sadness for me. It reminded me of my mom and the loss I have to feel every single day now that she’s gone. It’s why I didn’t want to come out here._ _

__But now, with you guys, it just feels like home again. There are still dark corners with sadness that like to sneak up on me sometimes, like when I found her song book last week, but it’s not as bad. Because I can remember the good stuff and I can feel all of you here, too.. and that’s what I want this place and the house to be for you guys. I want them to be happy places. I don’t want you to have to feel this way again.”_ _

__All three of her ghosts looked ready to cry again and they pulled her back in, Alex speaking somewhere in the depths of her curls, “You make it a happy place, Julie. You make us all happy.”_ _

__Luke hummed in agreement, voice a bit lower, a bit more strained, “You remind us what it’s like to have a family. To be alive. It’s..It’s hard when we see stuff like that. When it shocks us back and we have to remember what it was like to die, to lose each other..But you make it better, Julie. Always.”_ _

__And Reggie was quick to add his own commentary, a slight smile on his face that Julie could feel somewhere near her shoulder blade, “Yeah. And we’ve got each other, too, and that helps.”_ _

__Julie gripped them all tighter and nodded slightly, feeling her heart swell at their words. “Love you, too…. Even if you did die in the dumbest way possible.” Her voice held a teasing edge and she prayed that they’d respond well. They needed to lighten the mood or they’d all cry for eternity._ _

__They all laughed and Alex spoke, even though there was still something buried beneath his voice that Julie didn’t understand, “I’m surprised it took as long as it did. The amount of weird places we ate street dogs from is scarily long.”_ _

__Reggie grinned and he laughed, “The weirdest was that old dude’s shoes.”_ _

__Julie pulled away, disgusted and Luke was quick to jump in as if he could defend himself somehow, “No, I only did that because you dared me to! The weirdest place was definitely the dog crate. I mean, sure, it had a handle, but that does not make it a cooler!”_ _

__They seemed to all consider it before agreeing and Julie looked between the three, seeing the sincerity on their faces. “Ay, Dios  
mío.” The fond smile on her face gave her away, but she just pulled her idiots back in for another hug and began planning how to fully ban hot dogs from her home._ _


	2. Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray cooks hot dogs again, but this time he finds out why he shouldn’t.

Ray took the news of ghosts living in his house fairly well. It seemed with most things he just accepted it was a fact of life and figured out how to factor it in. The way he looked at it, what was he to do? They’d been around all this time and hadn’t hurt anything. Actually, they’d helped Julie immensely and as he’d been informed, by an all too excited Reggie, the boys did their best to help Carlos and Ray, too. So, Ray smiled, welcomed them into his home and moved on. 

He had strayed from asking too many questions, happier to live with only need to knows. (He saw how antsy Julie got each he asked a question she wasn’t sure of the answer to, so he’d backed away from anything that didn’t seem obvious in some way or another.) So, yeah. It was almost like he’d adopted three teen boys. The only difference was he could only see them sometimes and more often than not he’d only know they were in the room if a random object started floating. It wasn’t all that bad, honestly. A little funny if he really thought about it. 

So, no, he hadn’t considered to ask how it was they became ghosts. Most things to do with death he tucked away into that private part of his mind, safe and secure until he was alone and could break down if need be. (He needed to be strong for his kids. While they’d seen him cry and mourn, he also knew he needed to be the adult and make sure things got down and he didn’t drown in his own loss.) Why would ghosts even want to rehash their deaths? Ray couldn’t see an answer and so he’d never bothered to ask. But now he was starting to regret that decision. 

Standing in the backyard he’d decided it was a perfect Sunday in July to grill up some hot dogs and hamburgers. Julie had gone down to Flynn’s to swim but she was due back soon with the threat of a backyard concert with the boys, so lunch should be made. Whistling a tune, something Reggie had gotten stuck in his head in the past week, he flipped a dog on the grill. He heard the tell-tale sound of drumsticks and looked over to see Alex across the yard, still near the garage, tapping away on his thighs. 

“Hey, Alex. You doing alright?” Ray called, shooting the teen a smile. Alex always seemed anxious and Ray did his best to help calm it. 

Alex smiled a little, something shy and nervous, “I’m okay, Mr. Molina. I just saw Willie today…” A pause, the drumsticks still rythmically beating on Alex’s jeans, “I miss him. I saw him less than ten minutes ago and I miss him. I didn’t think that was possible.”

Ray laughed, the grill closed for the moment as he walked a bit closer, a genuine smile on his face. “Yeah, that’s usually how it starts. Soon enough you won’t know how you ever breathed without him near.” 

Alex looked a little shocked, as if Ray had placed his feelings into words and he couldn’t help the question that blurted out, “Is that how you felt about Julie’s mom?”

Ray saw the drummer wince and he shot him an easy smile. Talking about his wife didn’t need to be painful; the memories could be good and he could bask in the feeling of her love without being swallowed by the pain of her absence. “Yes. When I met Rose I was barely nineteen and she was so full of life and energy. I was just trying to find local photography spots and all she wanted was to live life to the fullest. We’d barely known each other two weeks when she convinced me to follow her six states away to some sort of battle of the bands thing she was doing. It was the best night of my life and when I returned home I couldn’t remember life before Rose and I couldn’t imagine a life without her. I proposed less than a month later.”

Alex looked shocked, having settled down into a deck chair at this point, chin resting on his hands now that his sticks were settled in his lap. “Really? So soon?”

Ray laughed, the crows feet near his eyes deepening and his smile widening, “Yup. I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her she was it for me. There was no one else who made me feel so wholly seen and wanted.”

Alex chewed his lip, clearly thinking. Ray gave him time, glancing at the time on his phone. Julie would be home any minute. He should also check the food soon. “So…” Alex began ans Ray turned his attention back to the ghost in front of him, “You don’t think it matters that you only knew her a month?... Like..Like the length of time doesn’t have to be all that important?”

A softer smile graced Ray’s features now and he rested a hand just above Alex’s shoulder. Ray and Carlos still couldn’t touch the boys, only see them on seemingly random occasions, so they made due with what they could in the physicality department, “Exactly. All that matters in a relationship is your feelings. The time doesn’t matter, others opinions don’t matter. All that matters is how you both feel, míjo.”

Alex ducked his head at the term of endearment, a rush of heat running to his cheeks even though he hadn’t had blood in his veins in nearly three decades. “Thanks, Ray… I needed that.”

Ray smiled and he stood, “Anytime, Alex.” He headed towards the grill, speaking as he opened the metal lid, “So Julie will be home soon. She said something about a concert back here. Will we be hearing some new originals or are you guys gonna sample some music like last time?” 

When he didn’t get a response and he was sure all the meat was flipped so it wasn’t burning, he turned to look at his ghost son. But Alex was staring at the grill like it had personally wronged him. Before Ray could ask, though, his other two ghost sons popped in. 

Reggie was mid chatter about some bike shop when Luke’s hand on his chest stopped him. Luke was looking at Alex, but his eyes quickly darted to Ray, and then the grill. Ray didn’t understand but suddenly both Reggie and Luke looked nearly green and he could see a near spasm shoot down Reggie’s spine. Without a word all three ghosts disappeared. 

Ray wasn’t sure where they’d gone, though he assumed it was to the studio, and he wasn’t going to intrude. Not yet. Something was up and he and his daughter clearly needed a chat before he could go speak to his boys. Unprepared for whatever was bothering them Ray would be of no use. With a sigh, he plated all the food and waited for Julie to arrive. (Carlos would be late, having to be dropped off by a friend from school whose house he’d been at all weekend.)

Julie arrived only a few minutes later, a billowing cardigan draped over her purple swimsuit and her hair in a messy bun, smile still sticking to her cheeks. “Heya, Papa.”

Ray nodded but he could see the moment Julie registered the concern on his face and her smile turned down, worry already carving lines in her skin, “What’s wrong? Who’s hurt?”

“That’s the thing… I’m not sure, exactly. Can you explain why I was talking to your band mates and they all of a sudden vanished on me, looking like they’d just seen...well, a ghost?”

Julie was about to spew some answer, probably a nonsense reply about their goldfish sized attention spans, when she spotted the plate of food. “Oh…” Her voice was all but a whisper ans Ray had never seen her eyes so sad and guilty. 

“Julie?” He asked, sitting across from her now, his worry magnifying to project on to his daughter now as well. 

A soft sigh left her lips and she looked up at her dad, a hollow pain in her eyes, “You never looked up how the boys died, did you?”

“No? I saw no need to. It doesn’t much matter. They’re dead, but they’re here. That’s what matters.” Ray preferred to live in the present as it afforded him the best vantage point. There was no need to remain shrouded in the past’s pain.

“Papa, they died because they ate bad hot dogs… I don’t know what exactly was wrong with them. The articles don’t say much and I wasn’t going to ask Luke’s parents...but, uh, yeah.. for as many jokes as they, specifically Luke, make about tainted hot dogs? I think it’s really traumatic for them..” The fact that their death anniversary was less than a week away wasn’t helping either, but Julie didn’t mention that. Already she could see the guilt snuggling close to her fathers heart. 

“Oh, my…” Ray stood abruptly, “Toss them. Go in the house and find the others and toss them. I have to go speak with them.” And then he was marching down the path to the garage, dad determination in his eyes. 

He didn’t knock, walking in and quickly finding the boys. The band was curled on the sofa, Alex in the middle and the other two not looking much better, but clearly choosing to comfort him above themselves. Ray saw Luke open his mouth, whether to apologize or tell him off he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t give the singer a chance to speak. “No. This is my fault. I made a mistake.”

Alex interrupted, voice sounding weak, “You didn’t know… We never told you, Mr. Molina.”

Ray nearly rolled his eyes at the moniker, but he held it together. “Let me speak, okay? When I found out about you guys I wasn’t overly shocked. How could I be when so many things around the house didn’t add up? My keys were suddenly always right in front of me when I was leaving, the laundry always seemed to be done when I got home from a long shift, and no matter how many times I swore I checked the grocery list there was always something added I didn’t write.”

Reggie winced at that, smiling nearly apologetically, but Ray continued on. “I should have done more research. Not like Carlos, but my own. I should have looked into you guys. Or spoken to Julie, or you, about all of this. About how you feel and your lives and...and your deaths. Because it matters. All of it. You’re my kids now and I’ve been doing a bad job. I know Julie is scared of thunderstorms and that Carlos can’t sleep unless he has some sort of noise in the background. But I don’t know a thing about you boys that matters. And I am beyond sorry for never asking. You all deserve that and more.” Ray’s voice was growing thick, the tears in his eyes welling and threatening to overflow, “I promise to try better from now on. You all deserve that much.”

A moment of silence followed, all three teens stunned into it. But Reggie broke it, essentially throwing himself at Ray. Without thinking he wrapped his arms around his adoptive father and hugged him tight, crying into the shoulder of his blue t-shirt. Ray hugged back unthinkingly, not recognizing the gravity of this situation as he was still trying to balance the other. He glanced at the other two and slowly they joined the hug.

When they pulled away, all wiping their cheeks and pretending they weren’t, Alex spoke. “Thank you, Mr. Molina… it means a lot to us… Thank you for caring.”

“Call me Ray, please. Mr. Molina sounds so stuffy.” He gave a slight smile. “You’re welcome. I’m really sorry if I hurt you guys or caused any strife…”

Luke was quick to shake it off, his smile wobbly but true. “It’s alright. It doesn’t always get so bad. Just sometimes it’s hard to think about other stuff when all I can see is my friends hurting… but it wasn’t so bad. Julie’s taught us some tricks to deal with it.”

“Julie is also helping us grieve our own deaths!” Reggie added in helpfully, his puppy dog smile back on his face. 

Ray smiled a private smile, thanking his lucky stars, and Rose, that yet again he’d somehow managed to have a perfect daughter. “I’m glad she’s helping you boys. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me either, okay?”

With nods from all of his boys he nodded, brushing his hands against his pants and smiling again, “Alright… so. We’ve still got hamburgers for lunch if you boys would like to join us. If not, when we’re done, Julie can come get you. I’d still love to hear what you’re working on?”

Alex smiled, stepping forwards, “Sounds great, Ray. Maybe we’ll do some sampling tonight. Pick some of your favorites?” 

Ray smiled at the boy, leading them out of the studio, “I think that sounds wonderful, Alex.” As they headed back towards the grill, and Julie who was already halfway through her meal, he vowed to do some more research and figure out what he needed to protect his boys from. And if later that night he cried himself to sleep because _he could touch them _then no one ever needed to know.__


End file.
